is not virtuous; but
that in order to be virtuous, he must, in spight of his natural
Inclinations, wrong his Neighbours, and eat and drink, &c. to excess.
But perhaps it may be said, that by the Word _Virtue_ in the
above Assertion, is meant, _Merit_; and so it should stand thus;
Without Self-Denial there is no Merit; and the greater the
Self-Denial the greater the Merit.
The Self-denial here meant, must be when our Inclinations are
towards Vice, or else it would still be Nonsense.
By Merit is understood, Desert; and when we say a Man merits,
we mean that he deserves Praise or Reward.
We do not pretend to merit any thing of God, for he is above
our Services; and the Benefits he confers on us, are the Effects of
his Goodness and Bounty.
All our Merit then is with regard to one another, and from one
to another.
Taking then the Assertion as it last stands,
If a Man does me a Service from a natural benevolent
Inclination, does he deserve less of me than another who does me the
like Kindness against his Inclination?
If I have two Journeymen, one naturally industrious, the other
idle, but both perform a Days Work equally good, ought I to give the
latter the most Wages?
Indeed, lazy Workmen are commonly observ'd to be more
extravagant in their Demands than the Industrious; for if they have
not more for their Work, they cannot live so well: But tho' it be
true to a Proverb, _That Lazy Folks take the most Pains_, does it
follow that they deserve the most Money?
If you were to employ Servants in Affairs of Trust, would you
not bid more for one you knew was naturally honest, than for one
naturally roguish, but who had lately acted honestly? For Currents
whose natural Channel is damm'd up, (till the new Course is by Time
worn sufficiently deep and become natural,) are apt to break their
Banks.
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